Firing the trigger-satisfied Florida police officer who shot a young Black Airman in his personal house inside seconds of seeing him need to only be the 1st step toward attaining any semblance of justice in the tragic case, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump mentioned hours just after the termination was announced.

Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Duran — who was only identified on Friday — lastly lost his job 4 weeks to the day just after proof suggests he went to the incorrect apartment and ended up killing Roger Fortson, a 23-year-old officer in the U.S. Air Force.

Much more: Roger Fortson’s Police Killing And The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office’s History Of Brutality, Recklessness And Crime

It apparently took an whole month for the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office to decide that the May 3 shooting death of Fortson violated division policy.

“The objective facts do not support the use of deadly force as an appropriate response to Mr. Fortson’s actions,” Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden mentioned Friday.

But these very same “objective facts” also demonstrate that Duran violated the law, Crump recommended in a statement.

“The firing of the officer who shot and killed Roger Fortson is a step forward, but it is not full justice for Roger and his family,” Crump mentioned. “The actions of this deputy were not just negligent, they were criminal. As we’ve stated from the beginning, and as echoed today by Sheriff Aden, Roger was an exceptional airman who did absolutely nothing to warrant being gunned down in his own home.”

Crump referenced earlier situations he’s handled exactly where police officers shot and killed innocent Black men and women exactly where they lived.

“Just as we did for Botham Jean, Atatiana Jefferson, and Breonna Taylor, we will continue to fight for full justice and accountability for Roger Fortson, as well as every other innocent Black man and woman gunned down by law enforcement in the presumed safety of their own home,” Crump mentioned.

What occurred to Roger Fortson?

Fortson was shot in his personal apartment on May 3 inside seconds of opening his front door just after an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Duran responded aggressively to a report of a domestic “disturbance” that a witness claims under no circumstances existed at that place.

Less than a week just after Fortson was killed, the initial shooting narrative offered by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office had been undermined by that witness – Fortson’s girlfriend – who mentioned the police responded to the incorrect apartment.

Bodycam video footage shows the deputy banging loudly on an apartment door. When Fortson – possibly suspecting an intruder – answered the door though brandishing a legally owned gun that was facing down, Duran promptly opened fire and shot the young Airman six instances.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office initially claimed Duran fired out of “self defense” and that other cops on the scene rendered healthcare help, but Fortson’s girlfriend recommended otherwise and shared video footage proving it, attorneys mentioned. The footage is from a FaceTime contact she and Fortson had been obtaining when he was shot.

Fortson’s family members recommended in a statement just after watching the bodycam video of the shooting that the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office was not becoming totally truthful.

Fortson’s family members has mentioned they are “adamant that the police had the wrong apartment as Roger was on the phone with his girlfriend for a substantial amount of time leading up to the shooting, and no one else was in the apartment.”

At a subsequent press conference, Crump pointed to the police bodycam video footage and its transcript, in specific, to offer proof that 1) Fortson’s finger was not on his gun’s trigger when he answered the door 2) the police had been told prior to knocking on Fortson’s door that there was a female inside and 3) a police dispatcher told the deputy that the facts they had about the reported domestic disturbance may possibly not be that reputable.

Fortson’s physique was later delivered to his family members by way of a dignified transfer at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in preparation for a funeral on May 17 in Stonecrest, Georgia.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office is the very same police division that employed a cop who in November infamously shot at but did not kill an unarmed and handcuffed Black man just after mistaking the sound of a falling acorn for a gunshot.

In that instance — which arguably got far more news coverage than Fortson’s death — the officer had the privilege of resigning as an alternative of becoming fired like Duran was.

This is America.

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